


Make Them in My Colors Next Time

by ms_superwhoavengelockgermany06



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Braces, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, Poor Bitty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 12:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6238315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ms_superwhoavengelockgermany06/pseuds/ms_superwhoavengelockgermany06
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bitty has to get braces. He swears he'll never tell Jack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make Them in My Colors Next Time

Hideous. Disgusting. Completely, totally, and utterly unkissable. That’s all Bitty could think as he stared into the mirror, his mouth opened wide to examine the new rows of metal on his teeth. How on earth was he going to explain this to Jack? ‘Oh, hey, sweetheart, the dentist said my teeth are misaligned because I’ve been using the wrong size mouthguard! Hope you don’t mind these big, ugly monstrosities on my teeth!’ Yes, that would go over well.

Finally, Bitty willed himself to tear his gaze away from the mirror. Tears were welling in his eyes as he ran his tongue over the dental work. _Braces_ , his mind supplied smugly, only adding to his misery. This was a disaster. Wanting to avoid looking at himself any longer, Bitty exited the bathroom and headed to the kitchen. Baking would help. Baking always helped. He pulled down all the ingredients for apple mini pies. Those were Jack’s favorite. Maybe having them on hand when he came to visit tomorrow would soften him up for the bad news. 

“Are you making cherry? Oh, please make cherry, Bitty! Those are the best!” Chowder exclaimed, sliding up next to Bitty. 

Bitty jumped. “Good Lord, Chowder, you about gave me a heart attack! I’ll make a batch of cherry for you, honey, don’t worry.” 

“Thank you! Nice braces, by the way! I love the Samwell red and white!” 

“Don’t tell anyone, Chowder.” 

“But why? Don’t you like them? I mean, they probably hurt because you just got them, but they’re cool! You can get them in any color you want and when you get your retainer, they come in awesome colors. You can even put glitter on them! And you get a glow in the dark case.” 

Bitty sighed. “Chowder, baby, no offense, but they’re...well, they’re gross. They aren’t exactly a fashion statement, and they don’t exactly make me look anymore attractive.” 

“Some people think they’re cute! There’s a girl in my Biology class who said she thinks they’re really cute.” 

“Not everyone feels that way, Chowder.” 

“Are you afraid that Jack won’t? ‘Cause he will. He likes you, like, a lot, Bitty.” 

Bitty’s cheeks heated up. Sure, Jack liked him, but that was _before_ the braces. That was before all the scraping that would happen when they kissed and the fact that he couldn’t chew the cinnamon gum Jack loved so much. It was before he was completely ugly. Maybe it wasn’t the end of the world for Chowder, but Chowder had it going for him. The braces made him cute. They made Bitty look like a loser. Before Bitty knew it, he was crying, throwing Chowder into a full blown panic. The younger boys threw his arms around Bitty, hugging him tightly. 

“It’s okay, Bitty. It’s gonna be okay. Jack’s going to love them! You can even get them in Falconers colors. He’d definitely like that, because he’s, like, a giant hockey fanatic.” Chowder comforted. 

“Thank you for trying to cheer me up, honey, but I’ll be okay. I better get to making these pies before the other boys come in.” Bitty hiccuped. 

Chowder nodded, his face twisted in uncertainty. He wanted to make Bitty feel better. He just didn’t know how. 

****

“Holster, you have Jack’s number, right?” Chowder asked.

Holster looked up from his philosophy textbook, eyes narrowing. What could Chowder possibly want Jack’s number for? The kid barely knew him. Chowder poked his lip out. Holster was the only person he was likely to get the number from. He didn’t want to resort to pouting, but if he had to, he would. He no longer had any shame. 

“It’s important, I promise! It’s for Bitty.” Chowder explained. 

“Bits has Jack’s number, bro. Trust me, I’ve seen some of those texts. That’s more Zimmerman buns than I’ve ever wanted to see.” Holster said, smirking at the expression of shock on Chowder’s face. 

“I mean, _Bitty_ doesn’t need it, but I need it to help Bitty.” 

“What’s wrong with my bittiest bro, Chow?” 

Chowder bit his lip. “Well, he’s kind of got these new braces and he thinks Jack is going to think he’s not cute anymore.” 

“And you want to hit Jack up to tell him that Bits has braces? Bro, he’s not going to give a _shit_. Dude will probably fuck Bitty twice as hard. Don’t take that away from our bittiest bro, yo.” 

“But Bitty’s been crying! He’s so sad, Holster.” 

“Jack’s going to be here tomorrow. It’ll be okay, man. Just chill.” 

Chowder nodded, sighing heavily. Maybe Holster was right. 

****

Jack had missed the Haus. He had missed his friends, his team, the bickering and the videogame wars and the smell of apple and cinnamon filling the space. His new apartment in Providence was cold and lonely, and the Haus felt like home. Maybe he needed to get Bitty down there to give it a touch of life. The blonde could make any place warm with his presence. Speaking of Bitty, Jack didn’t see him anywhere. There was a box of mini pies on a coffee table that Jack swears wasn’t there before with his name on them, but no Bitty to kiss him. There wasn’t even a note. It was bizarre.

“Bro!” 

Jack huffed a laugh as he was tackled by Ransom and Holster. The two defense men squeezed him relentlessly as they screamed in his ear. Some things never changed. 

“Hey. I want to catch up, but I would like to see Bitty first. Where is he?” Jack asked. 

Ransom and Holster shared a sad look. Jack frowned. 

“What is it? Is Bitty okay?” Jack pressed. 

“Yeah, he’s cool, Jack. He’s just not up to seeing people.” Ransom said. 

“Yeah, bro. He’s got a killer headache. Too many wine coolers last night.” Holster said. 

“I’ll go check on him and let him know I’m here. He did seem a bit out of it when I called last night.” Jack said. 

Jack headed for the stairs. Holster and Ransom shared another look, but didn’t try to stop him. After all, he was Jack Zimmerman. He was going to see Bitty eventually, whether the smaller boy liked it or not. 

****

The stairs seemed to go on forever. It was as if they wanted to keep Jack from Bitty. Well, it seemed like everyone wanted to keep him from Bitty. It made Jack worry that there was something bigger than a headache going on. When he finally reached Bitty’s door, Jack gave a soft knock before opening it, sighing softly at the sound of Beyoncé drifting from the speakers. He didn’t recognize the song, but if Bitty was listening to it, he was feeling better. Jack smiled softly, despite being unsure of what to do now. Should he do something romantic like the men in those movies Shitty and Bitty like so much? That would probably make Bitty smile.

Quietly, Jack positioned himself behind Bitty and put his hands over the younger man’s eyes. Bitty didn’t make a sound, his body going rigid at the contact. Jack dropped his hands immediately. This was a terrible idea. 

“I’m sorry, Eric. I’ll leave you alone for a while.” Jack said quietly, kissing the top of Bitty’s head. 

“No, sweetheart, you can stay. You just surprised me, that’s all.” Bitty said. 

“Are you still feeling sick? I can bring you some aspirin.” 

“I’m fine, Jack. Did you have a good trip?” 

“Yes. Are you sure you are okay, Bitty? You sound upset.” 

That’s when the tears started. Bitty pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on them, his back heaving with his sobs. Jack felt fear settle in the pit of his stomach. He should have driven up after practice yesterday. Bitty was obviously having some sort of crisis. Jack put an arm around Bitty’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. He knew it always helped him when he had an attack. 

“Eric - Bitty - whatever is wrong, we can talk. I won’t be upset.” Jack promised. 

“You will be, Jack.” Bitty cried. 

“I won’t. It will be okay. I’m sure it is not that bad.” 

Bitty looked up and Jack inhaled sharply. The blonde looked miserable. His eyes were swollen from crying and there were dark bags painted beneath them from being up all night. His lip quivered with the promise of more tears. Bitty opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut his mouth. He had no idea what to say. Here Jack stood, being as sweet as maple syrup, and Bitty was crying over something so stupid. Jack caught a glint of silver as Bitty attempted to speak once more. 

“I didn’t know you had gotten braces. When did that happen?” Jack asked. 

“Yesterday.” Bitty whispered miserably. 

“Really? They must still be sore.” 

“Yes, Jack Zimmermann, they are.” 

“They’re kind of cute.” 

“Don’t you dare lie to me. You can tell me that they’re ugly.” 

“They are cute, though. The only thing I would change is the colors. I happen to love it when you wear Falconers colors. It improves my game to know that I have the greatest person in the world rooting for me.” 

“I’m so sorry, Jack. I’m a mess, aren’t I? Goodness gracious, I can’t believe I thought you would think I was ugly.” 

“I never knew you were so vain, Bittle.” Jack teased. 

“You deserve a hot boyfriend, Jack.” 

“I already have one. Braces aren’t going to change that.” 

Bitty smiled. “Can we start this over? Because I want to welcome you the right way.” 

Jack nodded and covered Bitty’s eyes with his hands. Bitty smiled brightly. 

“Jack Zimmermann, is that you?” Bitty asked. 

“Yes. I just got in. Thank you for the pie.” Jack said. 

Bitty laughed and turned around. Jack pressed his lips to Bitty’s, running his tongue over the shorter boy’s braces. If his lip came out a bit scraped, he would never tell.


End file.
